Oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell death has been implicated in different neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases; one such ailment is Alzheimer's disease. Using the Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid beta protein, glutamate, hydrogen peroxide, and buthionine sulfoximine, we investigated the neuroprotective potential of estrogen against oxidative stress-induced cell death. We show that 17-beta-estradiol, its nonestrogenic stereoisomer, 17-alpha-estradiol, and some estradiol derivatives can prevent intracellular peroxide accumulation and, ultimately, the degeneration of primary neurons, clonal hippocampal cells, and cells in organotypic hippocampal slices. The neuroprotective antioxidant activity of estrogens is dependent on the presence of the hydroxyl group in the C3 position on the A ring of the steroid molecule but is independent of an activation of estrogen receptors.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is increasingly used as a therapeutic tool in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, and we recently found that it has a neuroprotective effect both in vitro andTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a technique in which a time-varying strong electric current is applied through a coil held in direct contact with the subject's head, was originally developed for diagnostic use in neurology (for review see Rossini and Rossi 1998). A possible effect of TMS on mood was first reported in 1987 (Bickford et al. 1987) and, although discussed controversially, to date several lines of evidence resulting from both preclinical (Fleischmann et al. 1995;Zyss et al. 1997) and clinical (e.g., Pascual-Leone et al. 1996) studies support the notion that repetitive TMS (rTMS) may have antidepressant properties: rTMS induces transient enhancement of mood in healthy subjects, and daily application alleviates symptoms in patients suffering from treatment-resistant major depression (for review see George et al. 1999).Although rTMS is currently being evaluated as a possible alternative or add-on therapy in the treatment of refractory depression, knowledge concerning its effects at the molecular and cellular level is still very limited. Recently, Ji et al. (1998) reported a specific activation of brain regions in terms of immediate early gene expression in rats in response to rTMS. In addition, we provided a first evidence for a neuroprotective effect of long-term rTMS in vivo and in vitro (Post et al. 1999). The in vitro studies showed that magnetic stimulation analogous to TMS increased the overall viability of mouse monoclonal hippocampal HT22 cells and had a neuroprotective effect against oxidative stressors such as amyloid beta (A ␤ ) and glutamate. Moreover, the treatment increased the release of the potentially neuroprotective secreted amyloid precursor protein (sAPP) into the supernatant of HT22 cells and into cerebrospinal fluid from rats. Accordingly, HT22 cells preincubated with cerebrospinal fluid from long-term rTMStreated rats were found to be protected against A ␤ (Post et al. 1999). However, the neurochemical mechanisms underlying these neuroprotective properties as well as the putative therapeutic effects of rTMS in neurological and psychiatric disorders still remain to be elucidated.Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a member of the neurotrophin family and is abundantly expressed in the adult brain. The neurotrophic and also neuroprotective effects of BDNF have been characterized extensively both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, upregulation of BDNF has been implicated in neuronal responses to various kinds of injuries, such as epileptic seizures, cerebral ischemia, and hypoglycemia (for review see Connor and Dragunow 1998). Recent work raised the possibility that one of the many long-term effects of antidepressant treatment may be regulation of neurotrophins: antidepressant drug treatment and electroconvulsive seizures (ECS) were shown to marke...

Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) is an endogenous ligand of the N/OFQ peptide (NOP) receptor, which is a G protein-coupled receptor in brain regions associated with mood disorders. We used a novel, potent, and selective orally bioavailable antagonist, LY2940094, to test the hypothesis that blockade of NOP receptors would induce antidepressant effects. In this study we demonstrate that targeting NOP receptors with LY2940094 translates to antidepressant-like effects in rodent models and, importantly, to antidepressant efficacy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The proof-of-concept study (POC) was an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that evaluated LY2940094 as a novel oral medication for the treatment of patients with MDD. Once daily oral dosing of LY2940094 at 40 mg for 8 weeks vs placebo provided some evidence for an antidepressant effect based on the change from baseline to week 8 in the GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 item total score, although the predefined POC efficacy criterion (probability of LY2940094 being better than placebo⩾88%) was not met (82.9%). LY2940094 also had an early effect on the processing of emotional stimuli at Week 1 as shown by an increased recognition of positive relative to negative facial expressions in an emotional test battery. LY2940094 was safe and well tolerated. Overall, these are the first human data providing evidence that the blockade of NOP receptor signaling represents a promising strategy for the treatment of MDD.

Background-The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is an ongoing observational, longitudinal cohort study of participants with Parkinson's disease, healthy controls, and carriers of the most common Parkinson's disease-related genetic mutations, which aims to define biomarkers of Parkinson's disease diagnosis and progression. All participants are assessed annually with a battery of motor and non-motor scales, 123-I Ioflupane dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging, and biological variables. We aimed to examine whether non-manifesting carriers of LRRK2 and GBA mutations have prodromal features of Parkinson's disease that correlate with reduced DAT binding.